A warm welcome to WakingGround
Counselling & Therapy
The path of awakening is not about becoming who we are. Rather it is about unbecoming who we are not.
Albert Schweitzer
THE JOURNEY TO THERAPY
Are you having a tough time right now? Perhaps you've been struggling for years, or more recent events have brought up challenges for you. Many different experiences lead people into counselling or therapy, including: stress or anxiety that's difficult to manage; feeling so low that you don't know what to do; getting angry in a way that's hard to control; finding yourself in the same unhappy relationships or conflicts over and over; struggling to get over a frightening or painful episode in your life; losing a loved one; feeling frustrated with your life and wanting to change things.
I believe that, with the right support and care, each one of us has the potential to find meaning, peace and a sense of agency in our lives and relationships, and that we need to re-learn the basic wisdom of our ancestors – that a problem shared is a problem halved. With the support of counselling and therapy, it's possible to awaken our deepest wisdom and strengths and live more fully and authentically.
ABOUT THERAPY
We each have a set of established expectations and routines that define our approach to the world, which we develop early in life and carry with us. These cause us to see ourselves and others through old lenses, and we can find ourselves stuck in repeating patterns of feelings, thoughts and behaviour that cause us suffering in our current lives.
In therapy I will work together with you to help you notice more closely both what happens in your life outside of our sessions, and in the relationship between you and me within them, to unearth these habitual patterns. Approaching the body and mind as a unified whole, I will encourage you to get into greater contact with what is happening in the moment, using all of your senses, and sometimes sharing my own experiences. With this greater awareness it becomes possible for you to make more conscious choices, to keep hold of what serves you well, and let go of what doesn’t. Some people come to see me for a few months; some people for several years, as change can happen quite fast and it can also be very complex and take a long time. I offer kindness, empathy and the curiosity to uncover and discover. At times I also bring humour and irreverence to my work, as these qualities can provide a light that makes exploring the darkest corners of experience bearable.
Eventually we realize that not knowing what to do is just as real and as useful as knowing what to do. Not knowing stops us from taking false directions. Not knowing what to do, we start to pay real attention. Just as people lost in the wilderness, on a cliff face or in a blizzard pay attention with the kind of acuity that they would not have if they thought they knew where they were. Why? Because for those who are really lost, their life depends on paying real attention. If you think you know where you are, you stop looking.
David Whyte
ABOUT ME
Dr Beth Carley; MBACP, Postgrad Dip, PhD, MSc, BA (hons)
I am an integrative therapist, drawing on theory and practice from multiple fields of counselling and therapy – particularly Gestalt, relational psychoanalytic therapy, and attachment/trauma-orientated approaches. My personal experience of counselling first began many years ago, and has encompassed a number of different approaches, which informed my decision to train as an integrative practitioner. I believe my own experiences of life's challenges serve as an an important element of my professional toolkit, drawing on the ancient myth of the ‘wounded healer’.
I hold a BACP-accredited foundation certificate and postgraduate diploma in integrative counselling from the Minster Centre, one of Europe’s leading integrative counselling and psychotherapy training institutes. I am a registered member of the BACP and have full professional indemnity insurance.
Alongside my private practice I am a counsellor at Watford Women’s Centre, working with survivors of domestic abuse.
In my previous career I was an academic researcher, where my work involved speaking to people about their own lived experiences of community organising in deprived neighbourhoods.
I have a PhD in Social Policy and a Master’s degree in Social Research, from the University of Manchester, and a Bachelor’s degree in Modern European Languages, from the University of Liverpool.
spring thaw and its rushing forth again
the trees keep growing outwards,
sometimes almost horizontally,
no matter how constrained by concrete or drowned by flood
the ice always thaws
and I give thanks for tears
Sophie Shepherd
PRACTICALITIES
I am based near Norwich, and work with clients both locally (face-to-face) and nationally (online).
My fee is £60 per 50-minute session. I offer a limited number of concessionary spaces – if needed, please ask about this.
I offer a free 15-minute telephone or video consultation to meet me and discuss the possibility of us working together. Please contact me at: beth@wakingground.com or 07458 107540.
Please note: I don't currently have any available space for new clients. I will update this space when that changes.
RESOURCES
Below you'll find links and contact details for organisations that provide crisis support, that offer support and information on different mental health difficulties, and for different communities, as well as places where you can find out more about therapy and search for other therapists. Knowledge is power!
CRISIS SUPPORT
If you are in crisis, feel unsafe and don’t know what to do:
Dial 999
Go to A&E, or ask someone to take you
Call the Samaritans or contact SHOUT (see below).
Sources of crisis support:
Shout
Shout 85258 is a free, confidential, 24/7 text messaging support service for anyone who is struggling to cope.
Text SHOUT to 85258
More info on their website: https://giveusashout.org/
Samaritans
A helpline, for whatever you're going through. Free and confidential. Available at any time, from any phone, 365 days a year.
Call 116 123
CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably)
Helpline for people in the UK who are down or have hit a wall for any reason, who need to talk or find information and support.
Call 0800 58 58 58
Open 5pm-midnight, 365 days a year.
They also offer a webchat and information/ links to support with specific issues on:
https://www.thecalmzone.net/help/get-help/
NHS mental health helplines
Find a local NHS urgent mental health helpline
https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/mental-health/find-an-urgent-mental-health-helpline
OTHER SUPPORT
Mind
A national charity with lots of information and routes to support for many different mental health difficulties and diagnoses.
Black Minds Matter
Mental health support and resources for Black people
https://www.blackmindsmatteruk.com/
MindOut
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans & Queer Mental Health Service
Anxiety UK
Helpline: 03444 775 774
Text support: 07537 416 905
Depression UK
National Domestic Abuse helpline
Freephone, 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline
0808 2000 247
https://www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk/
Women's Aid
Lots of information and resources for survivors of domestic abuse, including live chat and email support. https://www.womensaid.org.uk/
Cruse Bereavement Care
Support and information for anyone experiencing bereavement.
Telephone helpline: 0808 808 1677
Email: helpline@cruse.org.uk
Web: www.cruse.org.uk
The Mix
Mental health support for under 25s.
Telephone support, 1-1-1 online chat and a Crisis Messenger text service
The Survivors Trust
Lists local specialist services for survivors of sexual violence, including advocates and Independent Sexual Violence Advisors (ISVAs).
For support, advice and information tel: 0808 801 0818
thesurvivorstrust.org
ASSIST trauma care
Information and specialist help for people with PTSD and anyone supporting them.
Helpline: 01788 551919
assisttraumacare.org.uk
National Autism Society
The UK's leading charity for people on the autism spectrum and their families.
Refugee Council
Mental health support for refugees and asylum-seekers
https://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/service-category/mental-health/
Carers UK
Information and advice on all aspects of caring.
Tel. 0800 055 6112.
web: www.carersuk.org
Harmless
User-led organisation that supports people who self-harm, their friends and families.
Hearing Voices Network
Committed to helping people who hear voices. Raising awareness of non-medical approaches to voice hearing. HVN has a growing network of support groups across the UK
ABOUT THERAPY/ FIND A THERAPIST
BACP British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy
BAATN The Black, African and Asian Therapy Network
Home of the largest community of counsellors and psychotherapists of Black, African, Asian and Caribbean Heritage in the UK
https://www.baatn.org.uk/find-a-therapist/
Pink Therapy
Directory of pink therapists provides a list of practitioners who work in an affirmative way with LGBTQ individuals and couples.
COSRT College of Sexual and Relationship Therapists
The Body Psychotherapy Network
https://www.bodypsychotherapynetwork.co.uk/findatherapist
UKCP United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy